Learning to move on
by Blue Supernova
Summary: Chihiro moves to Konoha, to live with her grandmother. Still trying to move on from her family's death, she doesn't realize that she isn't the only one suffering. Main pairing-GaaraxOC. There will also be NaruHina, SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaTema and InoKiba. Highschool fic.AU.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, because it all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 1

A new start

I fastened my seat belt, as the symbol came on above my head. The airplane started to gradually go down and I switched of my Mp3. An announcement came and the pilot stated that we would land in five minutes. I stretched my arms above my head, relieved that the five hour long flight was nearly over. The airplane landed on the runway and I looked out of my window. It was a fairly big airport and in the distance, I could see a forest, which this place is known for. Once we were allowed to get off, I grabbed my bag from the cabinets above and slung it on my shoulder.

I made my way through the passage that connects the airplane to the airport. '_This airport is so big, I don't know where to go_' I thought as looked around. I spotted the other people who were on the same airplane as I was and let out a relieved sigh. This is the first time I flew by myself and so I have no clue where you pick up the luggage.

After walking for several minutes, the people I was following came to a stop and I realized I had reached my destination. I gathered my two suitcases that held all my belongings and made my way towards the exit. I saw someone familiar and I walked over to her as fast as I could with my heavy luggage.

''Gran!'' I grinned happily and we both hugged each other tightly.

''O my dear, I have missed you so much. I haven't seen you for ages and my goodness, You've gotten taller than the last time I saw you!'' my grandmother exclaimed, looking me up and down. I giggled, a bit embarrassed.

'' We better get going Chihiro, I'm sure you're tired from the flight. I made some dinner for you also, just in case you're hungry dear'' Gran said as we walked outside.

'' I wouldn't mind eating something and then I think I will go to bed early'' I said yawning.

'_Welcome to Konoha_' was written on a sign. This would be my new home. My grandmother lived on the outskirts of Konoha and had her own little bakery shop. She was only in her early sixties, but she was very active and I am convinced that she could run a marathon if she wanted to.

Gran pulled up on the driveway, and I took in the place. The house was an ordinary two-storey with a garden at the front. It was painted white and the bakery shop was connected to the left-side of the house when you look at the were a lot of different coloured flowers in the garden. Gran loved gardening, but baking bread and cakes is what she was best at.

I took out my suitcases and my bag and walked over to the already unlocked door. Gran was inside, probably heating up the dinner.

'' You can leave your stuff in the halway for the moment and eat something first, before I show you your bedroom dear'' called Gran from the kitchen. As I entered the kitchen the smell of food was irresistible. I eagerly sat in one of the chairs for my dinner and Gran placed a mouth-watering stir-fry in front of me. I immediately dug in, forgetting my table manners for the moment.

Gran ate her food slowly, watching me as I ate. She was thinking about something, I knew that. I finished eating, absolutely full, when Gran asked me that I was dreading would come.

'' How are doing, Chihiro?''

I knew fully what she meant. I looked at her and saw concern in her grey eyes. A few months back, my mother, father and my twelve year old sister, Mai, died in a car accident, while they were on their way back from picking up Mai at school.

I remember that day unlike any other. I was still at school when I was called out to the office for something important. I had no idea what, and when I saw the principal there, I thought that I did something. But I was wrong. The principal told me that my family had gotten into a car accident. I stood there shocked for a few seconds, before I started to cry. I pleaded to the pricinpal if I can go to the hospital. He agreed and one of the teachers drove me to the hospital. I ran to the reception as quick as I could. I prayed to God that they were ok. The receptionist called one of the doctors from the ER.

The doctor came, but he didn't need to say a word, as it was written all over his face.

I broke down to the ground, crying uncontrollaby. The pain of having lost my parents and the sister I loved with everything I had, were gone. Forever.

The funeral took place a week later, but I didn't go. I was still unable to take in the death of my family. The mere thought of having to see my family getting buried was too much. I was consumed by depression and I refused to eat, to drink or to leave my room.

It took a few weeks for me to get back to somewhat normal. Gran suggested then that I could live with her in Konoha. I agreed, knowing that the town, Kumo, held too many painful memories for me.

I didn't notice that tears were pouring down my face until Gran came over to me and hugged me. She was the only one I had left, and I sobbed into her shirt, consumed by the memory of most painful day of my life.

'' Everything will be alright, sweetheart. Time will heal those wounds and you will eventually move on. You're going to make a new start, here, in Konoha, and I promise you, you'll love it, it is such a wonderful place to live'' Gran said, comforting me. I nodded, unable to speak for the moment.

It took me a while to calm down, and I'm pretty sure Gran's shirt is soaked by now. I stood up from the table and helped cleaning up the dishes. When I was finished, Gran showed me my new bedroom upstairs.

It was light blue on two walls and cream coloured on the other two. There was a single bed with blue covers and dark blue swirling designs. On the opposite wall, there was a window with a cream coloured blind and light blue, see through curtains on either side, which I suppose were just decoration. On the right side of the bedroom was a the bathroom of similiar colours as my bedroom. There was also a desk, a shelf, a bid wardrobe and a small bedside table.

I dropped my suitcases on the floor in amazement.

'' I love it. I absolutely, undoubtly love it!'' I said overjoyed. My grandmother laughed at my childish behaviour, when I ran towards the bed and jumped on it, even though I'm seventeen.

'' I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure if you'd like the colour though''

'' It's perfect Gran. Thank you sooo much!'' I gave her a kiss on the cheek

''Well, I better go, so you can unpack and get to sleep. Tomorrow is only Sunday, so you can sleep in as long as you want and then you are starting school on Monday, OK?'' Gran asked.

''Yep'' I said and started to unpack my stuff. Gran left the room and I put my belongings where they should go.

I came across my family photo, and I stared at it, smiling at the happy memory. It was taken when Mom was celebrating her birthday, so my Dad, my sister,Mai, and I decided to make her a beautiful dinner, but it ended up getting burnt and the kitchen was full of smoke. Mom came home and was very surprised the mess we created. We thought she would get upset, but Mom started laughing and hugged us all saying that it was the thought that counts.

I missed them so much, sometimes it becomes unbearable. So I tried not to think about them too often. I didn't visit their graves either because I knew I'm not ready to face it. But one day, I will go back to Kumo and go to their graves.

I changed into a pair of purple, flannel pyjama pants and a black tank top. I checked the time on my phone, and it was 20:16. I felt fatigue of the day's events and crawled under my duvet. I thought about how my life will be changed from now on, before I slipped into unconsciousness.

A/N: This is my very first fanfic and I would appreciate it, if any of you gave me a review whether there were mistakes, or helpful tips. I will try to update as quick as I can, but that could be every 5 days to maybe a week, because I'm quite busy with school and exams. There won't be any OOC in most of the future characters, but it depends really how you look at it. To clear up any confusion about my oc ( because I feel like I might have been quite vague about her) just look in my profile and there will be info. Hope you guys like this ^_^ xxx


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

First Impressions

It was Monday morning, and I was having cereal for breakfast. I had all my books and stuff I would need for school today. Gran left a while ago, to do some shopping. I think she was getting some ingredients for her cakes. I finished up my cereal and checked the time on my phone. I had another twenty minutes before school starts. '_I better get going. Gran said it would take me ten minutes to walk to school. Better not be late for my first day'_ I thought.

I picked up my bag and left the house. It was quite a nice day with a few clouds in the sky and the sun shining down. Despite the optimistic weather, I felt a bit nervous about school. I hope that I will make some new friends. I'm not the most socializing person on earth, but I am quite friendly to others. I had several friends in Kumo, but now I wont see them.

I saw the school coming into view, and saw a sign at the entrance, saying '_Konoha Highschool_'. There were students hanging around outside the school, chatting to their friends. A lot of them turned around when they saw me, and started whispering things like _'She is the new girl' , 'I wonder what she's like' _and _' I think I'll ask her out'_. I rolled my eyes at the last comment. I didn't think I was beautiful or anything, but more kind of pretty-average. If that makes any sense.

I went through the main entrance and saw the school's office to my right. Opening the door, I saw a middle-aged woman with black, short hair, talking to a voluptuous woman with blonde hair and hazel eyes. They both stopped talking, and turned to stare at me. _' I think I should have knocked first'_

The blonde woman was the first to speak.

'' Oh, you're the new student here, aren't you?'' She asked.

'' Yes, and I'm sorry for not knocking'' I said politely.

'' It's fine. I'm your new principal, Lady Tsunade and this is Shizune, the school's secretary,'' She said smiling at me. Lady Tsunade turned to Shizune,'' You'll take care of her from now. I need to do some paper work ''. With that, Lady Tsunade went in another room, which I guess was her own office.

Shizune gave me my timetable and a map for the school. She said that if I have any questions, I can ask any of the students or teachers. I thanked her and made my way out of the office.

I looked at my timetable and saw that it also had the teachers names on it.

First class - English - Jiraiya

Second class - Business Studies - Kakashi Hatake

Third class - Chemistry - Kabuto Yakushi

Fourth class - History - Iruka Umino

Lunch

Fifth class - PE - Gai

Sixth class - Maths - Asuma Sarutobi

Seventh class - Biology - Orochimaru

Eighth class - Art - Kurenai Yuhi

I was really happy that I have Art, because I love painting and drawing so much. The only subjects I'm going to dread were Business and Maths. I was never good at them, and the teachers I had before were awful.

I started to make my way to English. I tried not to look at the school map too often, so I don't look lost. _'Ok, it should be one of these classrooms'_ I thought, but then suddenly, someone wrapped their arm around my waist. Out of reflex, I pushed the person away and said person fell to the floor.

'' Jeez, I didn't know girls your size could be so strong,'' said the boy I pushed. He got up and I saw he was taller than me. He had blonde, spiky hair and bright blue eyes.

''Em, sorry for frightening you by the way, I was just messing. Oh, and my name is Naruto Uzumaki,'' he said while rubbing the back of his neck.

'' Thats OK. I was kinda expecting someone would prank me or something like that'' I said giggling. Naruto laughed as well and I was already beginning to like him a lot.

''So, whats your first class? I could show you where it is'' he offered.

''Um, English and the teacher is Jiraiya,'' I said, double checking my timetable.

''Cool! I have the same as well, but I'm going to warn you that Jiraiya is an old pervert,'' he said.

'' How can they allow a teacher like that in school,'' I questioned.

'' Lady Tsunade keeps him in check, but sometimes he can get away with it,''

Naruto showed me the classroom and Jiraiya made me introduce myself to the class. He didn't do anything perverted, but I think Lady Tsunade warned him before hand. Jiraiya gave me some notes and explained to me what they were doing at the moment. I took some more notes during class and when the bell rang, Naruto showed me my next class which was Business. He waved and said that he hoped, we could see each other at lunch.

Business was uneventful, Kakashi did the same thing as Jiraiya. I sat beside a girl with dark,blue hair and unique white eyes. We talked a bit and learned that her name was Hinata Hyuuga. She was quite shy and spoke in a very gentle voice, but became less shy after class. I asked her if she knew where my Chemistry classroom was. She gave me directions and I got there without getting lost.

Chemistry was interesting, and the teacher, Kabuto, didn't make me introduce myself, which I thankful for. I noticed a girl in that class with pink hair. _'I wonder if she dyed it or if it's natural.'_ I began to like Chemistry a lot because Kabuto was actually a very good teacher, even though he looked very young.

I had no one to show me where my next class was and I arrived five minutes late and out of breath. My new History teacher, Iruka, gave me a warning and put me beside a really pretty girl with long, blonde hair and light blue eyes. She talked to me a lot during class, like asking how I like it in Konoha and so on. Iruka kept telling us that we should be quiet.

'' Ino be quiet or I'll send you off to the office,'' Iruka warned.

After the bell rang I gathered my books in my bag. Everyone else went to lunch.

'' You're locker isn't far from mine. I can show you where it is,'' Ino told me.

We reached my locker and I put my books away.

'' You can sit with me and my friends if you want to Chihiro,'' Ino suggested,

'' That would be great. I'm really hungry now though,'' I said clutching my stomach.

We made our way to the cafeteria and got ourselves a tray of food before we went over to where Ino's friends were sitting. Ino began the introducing.

''OK guys, this is Chihiro Suzuki, the new girl. Chihiro this is Shikamaru Nara,'' a boy with black hair that was tied up, waved.

'' Beside him is Kiba Inuzuka,'' a wild looking boy with messy brown winked at me. I gave a shy smile in response.

'' This guy here is Neji Hyuuga and the girl beside him is Tenten. Their both seniors and they are a couple,'' Neji had long dark brown and has the same eyes as Hinata. Tenten had brown hair and eyes and smiled happily at me. Neji gave me a nod.

''This girl is Sakura Haruno and beside her is Sasuke Uchiha,'' _So that was the pink haired girl's name' _I thought. She said hi and the boy with the black hair and eyes gave me a grunt in acknowledgement.

'' I already know Naruto and Hinata from my earlier classes,'' I said, before Ino could introduce them.

'' I bet Naruto pulled a prank on you,'' said Shikamaru.

'' Well you see, Naruto kinda creeped up on me and I accidently pushed him and he fell over onto the floor,'' I told him. Shikamaru and Kiba cracked up, while Sasuke remarked that Naruto is weaker than a girl.

'' I swear to God, she is hell of a lot stronger than she looks, and she caught me off guard!'' Naruto tried to desparately explain. This made nearly everyone laugh.

'' OK,OK,'' said Ino recovering.'' And the last guy there is Gaara Sabaku,''

I never noticed that guy since I arrived at the table. He had red hair and light green eyes that had dark, nearly black rings around them. Another feature of him was a tattoo on his forehead that was the kanji for 'love'. He wasn't looking at me and I don't think he was listening at all. _' He doesn't look like he wants to be here, so why is he?'_

Shikamaru noticed my questioning gaze towards Gaara.

'' I'll explain it another time,'' was all he said.

''Explain what?'' asked Naruto.

'' Nevermind,'' Shikamaru responded.

I sat at their table and they asked me questions about myself and why I moved here.

'' My family died in a car accident a six months ago and Gran wanted me to move here, so I did,'' I said looking at my hands.

'' We're really sorry to hear that. You don't have to anything else about it,'' said Tenten sympathetically.

The others didn't question anything related to my family. Naruto tried to make jokes to cheer me up, and even though they were terrible, I laughed anyways. Everyone except Gaara, who was currently listening to his Mp3, was laughing when Kiba told me that, when they were twelve, Naruto and Sasuke accidently kissed eachother. I was in stitches laughing while Naruto and Sasuke looked a bit embarressed.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and Neji and Tenten left to get to their classes.

'' What do you have next Chihiro?'' asked Hinata. I checked my timetable.

'' PE and the teacher is Gai,'' I responded.

'' That means you have PE with us too,'' said Ino excitedly.

We all stood up and made our way to the gym. I went with Sakura, Ino and Hinata to the girl's changing rooms. I didn't have any sports clothes to change into, so Gai said I could sit by the sidelines and watch. Then he said something about youthfulness, which I have no idea what the hell that is. I sat at the sidelines and watched Gai put them into 2 teams for volleyball. As I was watching the match, I noticed that Gaara was standing in the corner, away from everyone else. But then I saw that _he _isn't standing away from others; the people on his team tried to keep far from him as possible, so that when the ball came in Gaara's direction nobody would move and Gaara would have to hit the ball to the other team.

Throughout the game I tried to figure out why they were standing away from him. _' I guess he isn't very social and he does have a strange appearance and a bit intimidating, but there must be something else. Maybe that was what Shikamaru wanted to explain to me later.' _I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice the game was over.

'' Hey! Chihiro! What are you staring at? We have to get to our next classes,'' said Naruto, waving his hand in front of my face. I shook my head and tried to focus at present. I checked my timetable for my next class.

'' I have Maths next with Asuma, do any of you have him now?'' I asked them.

'' Me and Shikamaru do,'' answered Kiba.

I said bye to the others, and Kiba, myself and Shikamaru made our way to Maths.

'' So, what was that you wanted to explain to me later at lunch?'' I asked Shikamaru.

'' You have probably noticed that a lot of people were keeping their distance from Gaara. They were doing that because they're frightened of him. A few years back, Gaara was the most feared person at school because if he thought you were looking at him the wrong way, well, lets just say you were already on your way to hospital. He had family issues, so that was why he acted that way.'' Shikamaru said, arms folded behind his head.

'' Did he change?'' I asked, and Kiba answered instead.

'' Pretty much. Just two years ago, Sakura accidently got involved with Gaara, and Sasuke tried to keep him back, until Naruto turned up. It was the biggest fight that has ever taken place, and both Gaara and Naruto ended up in hospital. After that Gaara would talk to Naruto and became friends, but nobody will still go near him,''

I thought about what they both said. _' I wonder what happened to Gaara that he would react so violently'._

We came to class and nothing interesting happened. I never liked Maths, so I wasn't really good at it. Thankfully I sit beside Shikamaru, who turns out to be the best in the class, albeit lazy.

Kiba showed me my Biology classroom. Sakura and Sasuke were both in that class. The teacher, Orochimaru, I found was a bit creepy looking. But when ever he addressed Sasuke, he would give him a certain look, as if he wanted him. I shuddered out of disgust. That makes two pedophiles in the school and one of them is gay. That definitely doesn't make me comfortable.

Finally the bell rang and I made my way to the Art room without any help. I waited all day long for this class and I was smiling with excitemont as I entered the room. There was a female teacher who I presumed was Kurenai. She came over to me and explained where all the art equipment and supplies were. I noticed the many various drawings, paintings, collages and so forth, on the wall. Kurenai told me there was only one seat available.

And that seat was beside Gaara. I walked over to the seat, feeling a bit nervous after the story Shikamaru and Kiba told me earlier. I remembered though, that Kiba said he changed and didn't attack anyone anymore. I pulled myself together and sat beside him. _' Maybe I should talk to him, seeing that I will be sitting next to him for the rest of the year'._

'' Hi, Gaara,'' I said with more confidence than I felt. He was a bit intimidating, I'll admit. He turned his head to look at me, surprised that I even said something to him. His eyes looked intensely at me for a few seconds. He was looking at me like I was crazy or something.

'' Hey,'' a raspy voice said. Thats when I registered, that it was Gaara. He sounded like as if he doesn't talk very often, which I believe is true. He looked away again and said ignored me for the rest of the class.

Kurenai called the class for attention and stated that we will be drawing still life. She placed a bowl of fruit on a table and she gave a few pencils and a sketch pad for me to use. I studied the fruit bowl for a minute and started to draw the outline of it.

Throughout the class, everyone was concentrating on their drawing. I peeked a look at Gaara's drawing and I nearly gasped. It was fantastic. He got all the proprtions and shading to near perfection. My drawing wasn't even close to his standard.

Most of us we're finished drawing and Kurenai came around to have a look at them.

'' That's a very good drawing Chihiro and you have the proprtions right, but you need to work on your shading.'' She said to me. I nodded at her and she went over to Gaara.

She praised his work and then the bell went, signaling that school was over.

I went to my locker and got the books I needed, when Ino, Hinata, Tenten and Sakura met up with me. We all walked down to the school gates and said goodbye to each other.

On my way home I thought about how the day went. I made new friends, I like most of my classes and the most feared person in the school actually said hi to me.

_'I think this will be a good new start for me'._

A/N: So sorry for the long update:( I'm already working on the next chapter, and I would really appreciate if you gave me a review on your opinion of this story. Thanks for reading!


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